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PRESTON
Reese stomped on the brakes, bringing the truck to a skidding stop on the gravel drive near the front of Maris’s rental cabin. Mandy stopped pacing the porch, hurried down the steps and straight into Nick’s open arms.
“You okay?” he asked and cupped her cheek.
“I’m fine, but you have to help Bryson. He was pretty upset and blames himself for what happened. But it wasn’t his fault. It was mine. I never should have let Berkley come out here alone.” Mandy swiped at a threatening tear.
Nick wrapped his arms around her again and stroked her back. “Aww, baby, no one’s to blame, least of all you.” He pursed his lips, silently asking me for support.
Berkley was an intelligent female and could take care of herself—most of the time. I knew she didn’t trust Maris and had to have been suspicious about her plea to help Sherri before she headed to the cabin. I had no doubt she’d purposely made Mandy stay behind at the lodge to protect her friend and let others know what had happened.
What I desperately wanted to know was what Bryson had discovered about Berkley’s disappearance. My cat grew more anxious with every passing second that we stood here instead of going after them. Getting upset wasn’t going to improve the situation, and the last thing I wanted was for Mandy to think she was responsible for Berkley’s decision. “Mandy, he’s right. I don’t blame you or Bryson, but I’d appreciate it if you would tell us where he went.”
“He shifted and said he was going after them.” Mandy pulled out of Nick’s arms and pointed at the clothes scattered on the ground near the tree line opposite the cabin.
If Bryson had transformed to go after Berkley, they had to be somewhere nearby on the property. It was the only thing keeping me from losing control of my cat.
“When he said ‘them,’ was he talking about Berkley and Maris?” Reese asked, moving to where she’d pointed, with the rest of us following behind him.
“He didn’t specify, so I assumed that’s what he meant.”
Reese wrinkled his nose, an indication he’d also scented the remnants of the familiar floral odor, the headache-inducing perfume Maris had worn on several occasions. After forcing myself to breathe through the annoying fragrance, I was able to detect the fading scent of the male who’d shot Berkley. I understood why Bryson was in a hurry to go after them. I also realized he’d purposely refrained from sharing the information with Mandy to ensure she remained behind.
Dealing with Maris was one thing, having a human stalking my mate with a gun was another. The muscles in my chest constricted, forming a tight pressure and making it difficult to breathe. “You smell him too,” I said, knowing there was no point in trying to hide the truth from Mandy any longer, not with the way Nick was snarling.
He gave me a brief nod and slipped off his jacket.
At least now we could prove Maris was the person behind Berkley’s shooting and not Desmond Bishop. When I worked in the city, I’d heard rumors about professionals for hire, rogue shifters willing to kill their own kind for a substantial price. It was obvious from Maris’s behavior that she hated Berkley. What I couldn’t figure out was why she wanted her dead. It made no sense.
“Smell who?” Mandy’s glare skipped from me to Nick.
“The shooter.” Nick continued stripping by removing his black T-shirt and dropping it haphazardly on the ground near his feet.
“What? Are you telling me that Bryson knew?” Mandy clenched her small hands into fists, her cheeks red. “We need to go find her right now.”
“That’s the plan, but you’re staying here,” Nick ordered, grabbing for the zipper on his pants.
***
THE URGE TO TRANSFORM into my cat and tear the forest apart looking for Berkley had been overwhelming. Reese had insisted I stay in human form with him and let Nick’s wolf take the lead to follow Bryson’s trail.
The air smelled of pine intermingled with the strong odor of damp decaying leaves, a byproduct of the melting snow. Beneath the forest’s many layers I scented snippets of Maris and Sherri, but it was the traces of Berkley that reassured me we were headed in the right direction.
I’d never been in this remote area of the property, and I had no idea what we’d encounter once we found the women and the shooter. For once, I was glad loud noises carried in the wilderness. We hadn’t heard any gunshots, so I clung to the hope that Berkley was still alive.
Even though I refused to consider a scenario where she might be injured, I wanted to be prepared and have access to other members of the resort’s security team, and had strapped a radio to the belt around my waist.
We hadn’t gone far when Nick stopped, spun around, and growled. I’d been so focused on finding Berkley that I hadn’t been paying attention to our surroundings. I turned to see what was agitating his wolf and saw Mandy trudging through the trees, carrying Bryson’s and Nick’s clothes. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one with a mate with a penchant for ignoring requests.
Since Nick was unable to admonish her actions vocally, Reese didn’t hesitate to speak for him. “Mandy, you shouldn’t be here. You need to go back to the cabin and wait for us.”
She ignored Reese and shot Nick’s wolf a defiant glare. “Stop growling at me. I’m going to deal with it.” She stomped ahead of us and called over her shoulder, “We’re wasting time. Are you guys coming?”
I shook my head, finally understanding why Berkley and Mandy had become such good friends. They were both infuriating, stubborn women who had perfected the art of not following instructions and being a pain in the ass.
Nick ran to catch up with Reese and Mandy, then smacked her with his tail as he sailed past them.
“Hey,” she said, giggling, then adjusted the bundle in her arms and trudged after Nick, with Reese and me flanking her on both sides to keep her safe.
The farther we walked, the stronger Bryson’s scent became. I wasn’t surprised when I heard his rumbling roar. “Stay behind us,” I instructed Mandy and took off running after Nick’s wolf.
We found Bryson’s bear in a nearby clearing. He had a man whose scent belonged to our shooter sprawled facedown on the ground. The man was clawing at the dirt and squirming beneath the large furry paw Bryson had pressed against the middle of his back. Off to the left, with a portion of the barrel buried in a small patch of snow, was a rifle with its shoulder strap torn in half. Bryson must have surprised the man in order to pin him down before he could shift.
Bryson wasn’t known for being humorous, but I’d swear the upturn of the bear’s lips closely resembled a smile. And by the way he flexed his claws, I’d say he was getting a lot of enjoyment out of purposely tormenting the man.
“Do something before he kills me,” the man whined, twisting his head in our direction the minute we stepped into his periphery.
“It’s not him you need to worry about.” I knelt beside him, making sure he could see the claws extending from my fingertips, and watched his gradual relief fade. After getting a better glimpse of his face, I realized I’d seen him before. He was the same guy I’d seen Maris with the day I took Berkley and Mandy dress shopping.
“Tell me what you did with Berkley, with my mate.” Revulsion in the form of bitter saliva coated my tongue, forcing me to swallow. “And trust me, if she’s been hurt in any way, there won’t be anything left of you to feed the scavengers.”
His body slackened, and he lowered his head, his cheek resting in the dirt in defeat. “She was fine when I left her. I didn’t do anything to your mate.” It was sad to hear a grown man sob, worse when it was a shifter. Presumably, the man took pleasure in killing his own kind, so smelling the stench of his urine should have given me some satisfaction, but it didn’t.
“What about shooting her, trying to kill her.” My heart beat at an accelerated rate, and I strained to keep my claws away from his skin. “How many other lives have you stolen for greed?”
“None,” he choked, his eyes huge. “You’ve got it all wrong, I’m not a hired killer. Maris didn’t give me a choice. She caught me skimming money from her father’s company and threatened to tell him if I didn’t do this for her.”
Reese squatted next to me. “So you tried to kill my sister to save your own ass.”
Nick and Bryson chimed in with feral growls, confirming their contempt. Mandy was the only one who hadn’t commented, but her lips were pursed and she clamped the bundle in her arms in a death grip.
“I hadn’t planned to shoot her. If she hadn’t moved I...I only wanted to scare her so she’d stay at the lodge. I figured Maris would give up if she couldn’t get to her.”
“If you’d only planned to scare her, then why did you use bullets lined with poison?” I asked.
“Poison, no,” he gasped. “Maris gave me the rifle and the bullets. If I’d known, I never would have...”
“Enough. Tell us where she is,” Mandy snapped.
“Help!” Sherri shrieked as she burst into the clearing. She stumbled a few steps, nearly falling in an effort to stop. “You have to help...” She grabbed her chest and repeatedly swallowed. “Berkley,” she finally managed to get out between numerous pants, then jabbed her thumb in the air over her shoulder. “Maris is going to kill her.”
BERKLEY
I hadn’t decided what pissed me off more, the fact that shifting had ruined my favorite pair of comfortable shoes or that I hadn’t moved fast enough and Maris sliced the tip of her claw along my shoulder. I was leaning more toward the shoes since the wound wasn’t that deep and would be healed by tomorrow.
Maris was vicious in her human form, but after ten minutes of avoiding her cat’s pathetic attempts to injure my wolf, it was apparent she lacked any true fighting skills. I, on the other hand, had an older brother who’d been teaching me how to take care of myself since childhood when I’d first learned how to shift.
I dodged another one of Maris’s attacks, then nipped her hindquarter, catching a hunk of flesh between my teeth and drawing blood. Her cat’s whine sounded almost human. She spun, limped a few steps, and took a swipe at my muzzle with her large paw, missing me completely.
If Maris had fought me like this shortly after stealing Drew, I would have enjoyed tormenting her and drawing out the fight. My wolf was bored, and I’d already wasted too much time toying with her. I was ready for this to end so I could get back to my mate and family.
I lunged at her midsection, catching her off guard and knocking her to the ground. I pinned her down and clamped her shoulder with my jaw, making it impossible for her to move. She snarled and snapped, trying to break free. I bit down harder and growled a warning.
“Berkley, either finish her off or let her go.” Reese’s command echoed around me.
Relieved that help had arrived, I loosened my grip on Maris. I glanced in the direction of my brother’s voice. Preston, Reese, and Mandy were standing to my right. Nick’s wolf and Bryson’s bear circled in front of me, taking protective positions on my left.
After everything Maris had done, no one would fault me if I dispensed with her permanently. I’d heard of remote areas where shifter justice didn’t always follow human laws, and internal disputes between our kind was dealt with by animalistic means. I wanted Maris to pay for her crimes, but not with her life.
I unlocked my jaws and quickly backed away from her in case she decided to lash out one last time.
“Berkley.” Preston was instantly at my side and rubbing his hands over my fur, no doubt checking for injuries. “Are you okay?”
I urged the transformation to wash over me, then stood and stepped into his waiting arms. Comforted by his tight embrace, I nuzzled his neck and took in his masculine scent. “A few scratches, but I’m fine.”
“I should spank your gorgeous ass for leaving the lodge by yourself.” Preston grabbed one cheek of my backside and gave it a hard squeeze to emphasize his point. “Don’t think because your brothers are here that we won’t be discussing this later.”
Right or wrong, I’d done what I thought was right at the time to help Sherri. He had every right to be angry, and, once I got him alone, I planned to show him how much I appreciated his concern. Hopefully, it would involve many attempts—in bed and naked—lasting most of the night. “I look forward to it,” I murmured, then nipped his earlobe.
“I’ll bet.” Preston removed his jacket, his wide, approving grin an indication that he’d guessed where my thoughts had traveled. He shrugged out of his shirt and handed it to me. It was warm, carried his scent, and would keep my backside covered until we got home.
Maris, whose cat had been cowering on the ground where I’d left her, rolled onto her stomach and transformed into her human form. “Did you see what she did to me?” Maris sat back on her haunches. She picked at the leaves in her hair and ran her hands over the bloodied wounds on her body.
“You’re lucky that’s all she did to you, you piece of dog poop.” Mandy pinched her lips together and wagged her finger at Maris.
I loved my friend and curtailed my urge to laugh at the way she struggled not to curse. Then I remembered Sherri and wanted to kick myself for being preoccupied and not asking about her sooner. “Please tell me you guys found Sherri.” I’d been worried that she’d run into Stuart instead of my family.
“She found us, then volunteered to stay behind and babysit Maris’s shooter friend.”
“Yeah, she’s pretty tough when you give her a rifle.” Mandy laughed, holding out a pair of jeans to Nick, who’d recently shifted.
Pretending to muster some dignity, Maris got to her feet and ambled toward what remained of her clothes. “I can’t wear these.” She held the shredded fabric in front of her.
I didn’t want her parading her body in front of my mate but couldn’t help goading her. “Guess you’ll have to walk back naked.”
“Here.” Reese took off his jacket and roughly tossed it at her. “It’s better than you deserve,” he said, squelching any notions Maris might have that my brother sympathized with her plight.
“Especially after your buddy Stuart told us about the poison-laced bullets you gave him,” Preston said, wrapping his arm protectively around my waist.
I wasn’t surprised to hear that tidbit of information, not after learning Stuart wasn’t a professional hunter and had refused to take my life.
Maris opened her mouth as if to protest the accusation, took one look at Preston’s berating glare, then huffed and shrugged into Reese’s jacket.
Mandy walked over to Bryson and patted his furry shoulder. “Hey, big guy, you need to shift.” She set his clothes on the ground in front of him, then flicked his snout. “Oh, and that’s for not telling me you knew the shooter was after Berkley.”
Bryson shook his head and snorted. Seconds later, he was standing in front of Mandy with his head bowed, rubbing his nose. “I’m sorry. I knew you’d want to come with me instead of waiting for the guys if I told you.”
“Darn right I would have.” Mandy watched him snatch his pants off the ground.
“Hey, eyes off the bear.” Nick tugged Mandy so her back faced Bryson, then frowned when she giggled.
In his animal form, Bryson was the deadliest of us all, but as a man, he was literally a teddy bear, the easiest to embarrass, and the first to present the cutest blush.
Minutes later, Bryson was fully dressed, and we were on our way to retrieve Sherri and Stuart, then head back to the cabin. Bryson and Reese flanked Maris, with Nick and Mandy following behind. After one verbal complaint and a threatening growl from both of my brothers, Maris remained silent for the remainder of the trip.
Preston had scooped me into his arms, his intense gaze speaking volumes about what he’d do if I dared to argue. This was one time I was quite content to curl into his embrace and let him play the dominant protector.
